President Pro Tem Jerry Sonnenberg

Senator Sonnenberg is a Colorado native who has been farming and ranching his entire life. He grew up in Sterling, Colorado, graduated from Sterling High School, and attended Northeastern Junior College.

As a father of four, Senator Sonnenberg is a strong advocate for youth programs and education. Senator Sonnenberg is a champion for Colorado students and their families, fighting to give families more control over their child’s education and help students receive an education that suits their individual needs. He was a substitute teacher at Sterling schools as well as a part time instructor in the Farm Business Management department at Northeastern Junior College for two years. He served as Chairman for the Colorado preschool pilot program and was a member of the Sterling Schools Building Accountability Committee.

Senator Sonnenberg has won numerous awards over his legislative career, including the 2008 Colorado Representative Of The Year award from Green Industries of Colorado, Guardian of the Taxpayers award from the Colorado Union of Taxpayers, The Common Sense In The Courtroom award for several consecutive years from the Colorado Civil Justice League and Legislator of the Year award from the Colorado Associations of Conservation Districts and Corn Growers. Sonnenberg was also awarded Friend of Farmers Union by Rocky Mountain Farmers Union Colorado Farm Bureau Pinnacle Award and Legislator of the Year from the Colorado Outfitters Association.

He previously served on the Colorado Farm Bureau Board of Directors, the Republican River Conservation District Board of Directors, and on Colorado Water Congress Policy Committee. He also served as President of the Coloradans for Conservation and Development. As a President of the Colorado Agricultural Leadership Program, Senator Sonnenberg is a dedicated advocate for the Colorado agricultural community, Senator Sonnenberg is committed to promoting water storage to prevent needless water loss and keep more of our state’s water here in Colorado.

Senator Sonnenberg is married to Vonnie, a teacher at Merino Elementary School. They have four children and four grandchildren.

Showing 5 reactions

Senator Sonnenberg, I just got off the phone with one of your aides. I appreciate that you don’t find Senate bill 18-049 comprehensive enough, but to me it at least seems like a step in the right direction. I don’t understand why school zones have a 20mph zone, but people can drive through with a phone covering half of their face. If the point of slowing down is to protect young children who may make a poor choice and step in front of a car, then wouldn’t it also make sense for that driver to be completely focused on the road and the potential for young children to step in front of them. Now, I realize that even “hands-free” technology does not remove distraction, but at least your peripheral vision isn’t impaired.
Please also consider that while texting is already illegal in the state (thank goodness) it does seem to be minimally enforced. As I stand at the bus stop I count the number of people looking at their phone rather than the road and it scares me that I often commute by bicycle sharing the road with these impaired drivers. It’s true that they should have the human decency to let it wait and let me live, but with that logic their shouldn’t be rules against drunk driving either, people should just know better that to drive impaired. I believe this new legislation 18-049 would make it easier for law enforcement to maintain public safety, because if they see a device in your hand your’re caught, they don’t need to decipher what it is, or what you are doing with that device.
As a republican I found it shameful that this was tabled on “party lines”. Please represent me by seeing this bill to the Senate floor for a vote.
Sincerely,
Becky Edmiston

You are for texting while driving? You are not for the citizens or the people of the state of Colorado! Texting while driving is dangerous…people who are trying to keep this legal should not be in office!

You are on the wrong side of history, as you stand with oil & gas and against protesters merely trying to make their voices heard. As a woman born & raised in Colorado, I find myself angered by the damage you would allow, both to the land, and to our rights by the oil & gas industry. The scars on our land left by abandoned mining sites all through areas around Leadville, Uravan, Ouray, Telluride, and other parts of the mining belt, speak to the damage corporations leave behind when not held to any standards. The only voices speaking up against them, quite often, are the very protesters you seek to silence.

So I ask you to pull back your bill, which seeks to silence the voices raised in defense of the land and people you are supposed to represent & protect. If you don’t recall it, then we, the people, will seek to see you out of a job.
I can only hope that you care more about working for the people and are not a shill for the oil & gas industry.

Jerry, You need to remember the oath you took! “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.” This action makes you a domestic enemy!
Go to North Korea where they have no such rights, instead of trying to destroy ours!

Do you NOT believe in the constitution? Did you not see the sheer numbers of peaceful protestors across the state last Saturday? Do you not realize WE AREVOTERS. I will be watching your every move. I will be keeping your name front and center in the minds of Colorado voters. The right to join with fellow citizens in protest or peaceful assembly is critical to a functioning democracy and at the core of the First Amendment. The First Amendment to the United States Constitution prohibits the United States Congress from enacting legislation that would abridge the right of the people to assemble peaceably. The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution makes this prohibition applicable to state governments. Your proposed bill stands against the 14th Amendment and thus against the American People. We WILLRESIST…Now to share on social media so others can express their feelings on your heinous bill.